A fourth bonus-point try eluded Dale but coach Jon Feeley commented that the second half performance was "a response full of character". He went on to say that he "would not let that gloss over what happened in the first half".

Feeley can "forgive mistakes at any level of rugby but could not forgive lack of application or effort".

He took full responsibility for the performance on the field and added an apology to the supporters who had travelled south, saying: "They deserved better than what had happened in the first half. The players are answerable to me and I am answerable to the club and the spectators”.

He finished with comments on Rob Baldwin and Aaron Myers, "who tried their very best to carry the team with typically brave performances", and also "Scott Jordan, who took over at scrum half and did admirably in a difficult situation".